Assistance in selling and buying real estate in Italy
Need help selling or buying an Italian home? Our lawyers have years of hands-on experience. We can assist you from the negotiation phase to the agreement in front of the Public Notary.
Things to know when buying or selling a home in Italy
Buying or selling property in Italy involves a complex legal procedure.
Generally speaking, there are four main stages:
- The due diligence
- The Sale Offer (“Proposta di Acquisto”)
- The Preliminary Sale Agreement (“Compromesso” or “Contratto Preliminare”)
- The Final Purchase Agreement (“Rogito Notarile”).
1.
Conducting due diligence is the first step to make. You’ll need to verify if the property complies with the Italian legal/technical/structural requirements and with the relevant Municipal norms.
2.
The Sale Offer (“Proposta di Acquisto”) is an optional, written proposal. It removes the property from the market until the Final Purchase Agreement is signed.
The period of time between the Sale Offer and the Final Purchase Agreement is expressly reported in the proposal.
The Sale Offer generally requires a deposit, to be consigned to the appointed Real Estate Agency or directly to the seller.
The proposal does not oblige the parties to complete the purchase. Even so, the buyer needs to pay great attention when signing this type of agreement as it may produce legal effects.
3.
The Preliminary Sale Agreement (“Compromesso” or “Contratto Preliminare”) is required to run investigations about the property before signing the Final Purchase Agreement.
Although it doesn’t transfer the property from one party to the other, it has legally binding effects.
4.
The Final Purchase Agreement must be signed in front of an Italian Public Notary. If you live abroad, you may want to give power of attorney (POA) and allow us to sign the agreement on your behalf. This way, you won’t need to be present.
The POA can also apply to the Sale Offer and Preliminary Sale Agreement.
What we can do for you:
Negotiate the price of the property
Negotiate the Real Estate Agent’s fees
Draft the Sale Offer and collect both the seller’s and the buyer’s signatures
Get you an Italian tax identification code (Codice Fiscale), required for purchasing property
Draft a Sale Offer and/or a Preliminary Agreement
Approve a Contract supplied by the other party
Report any issues that may emerge from the supplied documentation
Point out any lack of documentation, or any further enquiries we think you should make
Update you with the results of our purchase-related enquiries
Sign the Final Purchase Agreement in front of an Italian Notary Public on your behalf
Deal with the Notary to investigate and make sure that the house is sold free of debts and charges
Approve the draft of the final agreement supplied by the Notary.
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